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NASA mars mission

NASA Confirms 'Mysterious Object' That Hit Florida Man's House Originated From Space Station

NASA Confirms ‘Mysterious Object’ That Hit Florida Man’s House Originated From Space Station

A Florida man’s recent encounter with a mysterious object that crashed through his roof has been officially linked to the International Space Station (ISS), according to NASA officials. The space agency confirmed Monday that the debris, which initially puzzled local officials and scientists, is actually a fragment of recent space station activity.

The unusual incident happened last month when Naples resident Alejandro Otero’s son was startled by a loud noise in his living room. Upon investigation, a small metallic object was found on his son’s living room floor. “It was like a science fiction movie,” Otero told reporters.

NASA responded quickly to images of the object circulated on social media, sending a team to Otero’s home to retrieve the debris and conduct initial testing. Initial examinations showed that the composition of the material was consistent with that used in the space station module.

NASA Confirms 'Mysterious Object' That Hit Florida Man's House Originated From Space Station

Image Source: news18.com

NASA ground controllers used the International Space Station’s robotic arm to release cargo pallets containing old nickel hydride batteries from the space station following the delivery and installation of new lithium-ion batteries as part of a power upgrade at the orbital outpost. The total mass of hardware released from the space station was approximately 5,800 pounds,” the space agency detailed in a blog post.

The incident has raised questions about the safety of re-entry of space debris, which NASA is closely monitoring. “Although most space debris burns up in the atmosphere, small pieces can occasionally reach the surface,” the agency confirmed. He reassured the public that NASA is committed to ensuring that these events are kept to a minimum and that they maintain rigorous tracking systems to monitor the objects as they return to Earth.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Otero is left with minor repairs on the house and an extraordinary story. “It’s not every day that a part of the space station lands in your living room,” he said with a smile.

NASA promised to cover all repair costs for the damage caused to Otero’s home and invited him to attend the launch as a special guest, offering him a closer look at those operations. Which have indirectly affected their household.

As space agencies continue to explore and exploit Earth’s orbit, incidents like this are important reminders of the complexities and risks associated with space debris and the importance of sustainable space exploration practices.

Perseverance Rover

‘Seven Minutes of Terror’ faced by NASA Perseverance Rover before landing on Mars

Scientists hold their breaths as NASA’s Perseverance Rover enters into the thin Martian atmosphere and faced ‘seven minutes of terror’ before landing. NASA’s Mars Rover Perseverance is a robotic astrobiology lab that is designed and fit inside a space capsule. The rover was in its seven-month-long journey from Earth and it is about to land on the Martian land surface this week. The Perseverance rover is expected to emit a radio alert as it enters the atmosphere of Mars.

The signal transmitted by the rover is received at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) situated near Los Angeles. This signal will travel more than 200 million km and by the time the managers in the laboratory are able to receive it, the rover is expected to land on Mars’ surface. The expected time between entering the Martian atmosphere and landing on the surface is seven minutes whereas the radio signal transmission time to Earth is more than eleven minutes. The rover’s final descent started on Thursday and the JPL engineers have their fingers crossed for a safe landing.

JPL
descent and landing team

The Mars perseverance rover mission is worth $2.7billion (approximately). Al Chen, head of the JPL descent and landing team mentioned that the safe landing part is the most difficult and dangerous part of the mission. Chen also mentioned that in such missions ‘success is never assured’ as this time the team tried to land the most complicated and heavy rover they have ever built on a landing site that they never attempted before. If the landing is successful, this mission will open many doors for the scientist to know and explore if life ever existed beyond Earth.

This mission if successful will be followed by more human missions on Martian land. But, before all the discoveries and research, a safe landing is the biggest priority. The rover is six-wheel heavy machinery that will land with the help of a giant parachute (supersonic) followed by deployment of a jet-powered sky crane. The main function of the sky crane is to successfully land the rover on the target spot safely and it will also hover over the surface while descending the rover to the surface on a tether. (Gadgets 360) Al Chen also mentioned that the perseverance rover has to do this all on her own and the team cannot be of any help at this stage.

Perseverance Rover
Image Source: tribune.com.pk

If the mission is successful, the JPL team is expected to receive a signal before 1PM (Pacific time) confirming the safe landing on the Martian soil.

More
about the mission

The Mars Perseverance Rover has embarked on a two-year mission from Earth and its main objective is to search for evidence for microbial life that might have flourished on the planet billions of years ago. To do this job, the rover will engage a complex suit of instruments that will search for signs. There will be drilling operations on the rocks of Mars which will be sealed in tubes to further bring back to Earth and carry out research. This will become the first such specimen to be collected by humankind from another planet. (Reuters) The landing site of the rover is on Jerezo Crater, a 28-mile wide space on the land which is expected to be rich in fossils of microorganisms.

Objectives
of the mission

NASA is planning another two such missions whose only objective will be to bring back those samples from Mars. The rover also has a small drone helicopter that will test surface-to-surface powered flight on another world for the first time. (Gadgets 360) Another objective is to extract pure oxygen and carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere which will be evidence that future human survival is possible on Mars. The scientists are mostly looking for organic molecules which will be proof that microorganisms did survive in the Martian atmosphere.

For the production of oxygen missions, the space agency will deploy an instrument that will produce 10 grams of oxygen an hour using the electrolysis process. Since
the mission started amid the pandemic due to COVID 19, there will be much fewer
people in the control room. The mission’s deputy project manager also mentioned
that COVID-19 cannot stop them from carrying out such big research and setting
out for more such missions.